State Briefs 4/27/09

SPRINGFIELD – Two men were killed Sunday when their car struck a utility pole.

Victor Giannone, 45, and Bobby Hackwith Jr., 33, both of Springfield, were killed.

Springfield Fire Division Chief Bob Reside said firefighters had to pull the driver and two passengers from the car shortly after the 2:23 p.m. crash. One passenger was pronounced dead at the scene; the other was pronounced dead a short time later at St. John’s Hospital. The driver of the car was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Witnesses told police the car was traveling east on Stanford Avenue and was speeding up to try to make it through the traffic light. The car reportedly ran the red light and swerved to avoid striking another vehicle that was starting to go through the intersection.

Reside said the car traveled through the intersection, striking a utility pole head on before hitting a concrete wall and coming to rest against another vehicle. The second vehicle had minor damage, and the driver was taken to St. John’s Hospital to be checked for injuries..

State Journal-Register

Trailer fire leads to arrests on meth charges

GALESBURG — One man was injured and four men were arrested for operating a methamphetamine lab after a fire in a Galesburg trailer court Sunday evening.

A trailer was completely engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Fire officials said the burned trailer had electricity and gas shut off prior to the fire due to lack of payment and the residents were stealing electricity from a neighbor’s trailer.

That neighbor, Gregory VanSwearingen, 51, told police he saw the fire and went into the burning trailer to retrieve dogs that may have been inside. Since his wife had unplugged the cord providing electricity to the trailer, VanSwearingen used a lighter to see, which caused an explosion.

Police said VanSwearingen was burned extensively on his legs, feet, hands and face. He was taken by ambulance to Galesburg Cottage Hospital, then flown by helicopter to Springfield for treatment of his burns.

Inside, police located a scale with white substance on it, charcoal briquets on the couch, a cooler in living room, a propane tank and a respirator going from inside the trailer to a storage shed in the yard. The four men who lived in the trailer were arrested later Sunday on a variety of charges related to the manufacturing of methamphetamine.

Galesburg Register-Mail

Sheley wants to represent self on new charges

GALESBURG – A Sterling man charged in the deaths of eight people told a judge he still wants to represent himself on new charges that he assaulted Knox County jail employees.

During his first appearance with court appointed public defender Jim Harrell, 29-year-old Nicholas Sheley told Knox County Circuit Judge Dwayne Morrison on Monday he wants to act as his own lawyer on charges of aggravated battery, criminal damage to government-supported property and aggravated assault.

The charges stem from a jailhouse incident April 17 in which Sheley reportedly took the legs off a chair in a common area and threw them at correctional officers, injuring two. He also is accused of striking one official in the face.

Morrison warned Sheley that representing himself in this case was not in Sheley’s best interest, but did not make a ruling. At the next hearing, scheduled for 3 p.m. May 4, Morrison will review the new charges and possible penalties if Sheley is convicted.

Sheley also is charged in the death of Ronald Randall of Galesburg, as well as the deaths of five people in Illinois and two in Missouri during a two-state killing spree in late June 2008

Galesburg Register-Mail

Man accused of murder ordered held without bond

LACON – A man accused of murdering his estranged girlfriend was ordered held without bond Monday after a judge heard he had previously threatened to kill her and other people.

According to Bauer, information about Smith’s past threats has been provided since the shooting by two former co-workers at a Lacon auto repair shop and also one of Berchtold’s daughters.

According to their statements, as summarized by Bauer, Smith had previously said that he would kill Berchtold and a man he saw talking to her a local bowling alley bar where she worked; other people who worked at that business; and any police officer who might ever stop him on a drunken driving charge.

Lifestyle

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